Bubblegum Crisis Moto Slave + Priss

04.07.2008 by Adrian A. Lozano

Otaku2’s first product review is Yamato’s 1/15 scale Bubblegum Crisis Moto Slave + Priss set, which hit retail shelves early last week here in Japan. Most of the usual suspect toyshops in Akihabara seemed to be out of stock. Lucky for me, I was able to get one near the neighboring Ueno station. The Hard Suit and Moto Slave design came from the original "Bubblegum Crisis" OVA releases, not to be confused with the follow-up "Bubblegum Crash" or the even worse "Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040" TV series re-launch. Nothing beats the original, and, as far as transformable mecha toys go, Bubblegum Crisis has never had it so good. But... could it have been better?


Packaging:
This set comes in Yamato’s standard high-gloss front window flap box. The box graphic design is very pleasing featuring new art as well as original mecha line art, and a few dashes of character art. Yamato used a type of stacked insert tray to keep wasted inner box space to a minimum. (You 1/48 collectors know what I’m talking about.)






Contents:
Upon opening and getting over a bit of Bubblegum Crisis euphoria, I came to the realization that this set is a bit small. Over the past year I’ve seen the sample pieces shown at different events and the size seemed fine. Now that I finally have one in my hands, it feels a little tiny. The sculpt for both the Hard Suite and Moto Slave look great, and personally, I’m not worried if the Moto Slave does not transform "line-art perfect." A bit of advice when you transform a Yamato toy for the first time: always, and I can’t stress this enough, follow the instruction booklet to the "T." Tackling the transformation process head-on can lead to a lot of broken parts. Speaking of the instruction booklet, it wouldn’t be a Yamato toy if it didn’t come with a detailed transformation instruction that can only be rivaled by an automobile owners manual. On the plus side, there is a bit more line art in the back pages of the instruction booklet.



Transformation and Playability:
The Moto Slave transformation is not very complicated - the only tricky part is when you get to the positioning of the shoulders. The Moto Slave by itself is pretty fun to play with, but when merging it with Priss’ Hard Suit, the difficulty level rises. When you get to this stage you have to swap out the hands and extended shoulder joints; you just can’t "drop in" Priss. This toy is definitely a “Set It and Forget It” toy. The entire set is made of soft plastics, but for the price, a bit of die-cast should have been included to give it some weight for better balance. And hey, who doesn’t love robots with die-cast?




Accessories:
Hands, lots and lots of hands are included, but an actual interchangeable sculpted Priss head would have been more ideal. Also included is the Moto Slave side cannon, display stand, and did I mention.... it comes with extra sets of hands???






The Verdict:
Personally I like it, ideally I would be really happy if it had some die-cast metal and an interchangeable Priss head. If you are a Bubblegum Crisis fan, indulge yourself and get at least the Priss set or whichever is your favorite character. I could be content with just the Priss set, but Yamato has a Boomer and A.D. Police figure campaign that I simply can not pass up. In order to receive these limited figures you will need proof of purchase from all four Knight Saber Moto Slave sets, then you will be eligible to get the campaign exclusives. If you are just a casual anime mecha collector, this set might not be for you. However, it has my name written all over it.

Knight Sabers Sanjo!!!!!